False Face
by HaruSpringtime
Summary: "After thousands and thousands of dreams we awaken... after thousands and thousands of births we are born. This, the end, is only the beginning" -Dr. Brian Weiss
1. Chapter 1

She wasn't entirely sure how she stumbled upon this situation. The once twenty-nine-year-old woman was staring blankly up at the neon lights that hung brightly overhead. From her point of view, she couldn't pinpoint where she was, everything looked incredibly fuzzy, unfocused and images were blurred. Try as she might, the woman tried to get up but her body felt heavy and sluggish. She managed to extend her right hand upwards, she was startled to find that it had shrunken immensely and gained several layers of fat.

A shocked scream erupted from her throat, or at least she tried to scream. What came out instead was a wail, a loud cry of an infant that echoed through the barren road of the red-light district.

The front doors of the grand Crimson Lotus creaked open and an older woman took a curious peek out the door. It was just after closing hours and the woman wondered if the racket was coming from an injured drunkard or pair of feral cats fighting. However, when her eyes strayed downward she gasped loudly.

Before her, lay a small brown woven basket, the edges frayed and worn. Inside rested a baby, crying its little lungs out. The woman's heartstrings tugged at the sight and carefully she picked the infant up from the basket, wrapping its small body in the soft fabrics of her kimono. Placing the child's head on her heart, gently rocking the infant back and forth in soothing attempts and she took both the baby and the basket inside.

The loud lub-dubs of the heart began to mellow the child and soon the infant began to drift off, falling fast asleep, completely spent from its wailing fit. The older woman couldn't fight the smile creeping up to her lips and the warmth that settled in her heart. It was almost like a blessing from Kami-sama himself. She knew instantly from that moment she laid eyes on this baby that she was going to keep it.

"Hello little one," she whispered gently as she shifted the infant in her arms so the baby was vertical of her body. With one hand supporting the neck and head and another supporting the body, she whispered again "-my name is Aimi and I am going to be your Okaa-san." Taking note that the little baby would continue sleeping she leaned down to press her lips against the baby's temple. "I am going to call you Masaharu" she murmured as she connected their foreheads together and closed her eyes. "-my flourishing spring."

* * *

Chapter 1

Naruto scowled impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. After three long hours of boring lessons, it was finally time for interesting: one on one sparring! He was thrilled, ready to show off to the class his awesome butt-kicking skills.

However though, and he could barely contain his deadly glare at the two people before him. A few minutes had already passed and both pineapple boy and the fat kid hadn't made a single move yet! So far the only action he's seen; the pineapple boy takes a huge yawn, slouch lazily and stared off to the side disinterestedly. Choji just stood there, awkwardly.

Unable to just stand there watching and waiting, the blond boy decided to scrutinize the rest of his classmates, looking to see who he might be paired to fight. The number of female classmates outnumbered the number of male classmates, so he wondered if he would fight the hooded-glasses guy, dog-hat wearing dude or maybe… His glower settled on the scowling pale boy flocked with his female classmates.

His thoughts were broken when he heard Iruka-sensei ask Shikamaru and Choji to make the Seal of Reconciliation. He watched as pineapple boy hook fingers with the fat kid, sharing shy smiles. Naruto instantly grinned, pumped that it might be his turn next. However, his mood deflated when he heard the teacher call some girl's name, pairing it with "Uchiha, Sasuke" and almost instantaneously; the female portion of the class began to squeal, shouting out his name enthusiastically.

Naruto scowled and watched with disinterest as both the frowning pale boy and glasses girl stood off inside the sparring circle. Before the instructor could even begin the match, the glasses girl immediately surrendered completely flustered and flushed. The female portion of the class began to cry out again, cheering loudly and spewing compliments as the duo returned to their original spots, though the pale boy seemed to wear an even deeper scowl.

Iruka-sensei exhaled again, this time slapping his palm against his forehead. He called the glasses girl over and proceeded to scold her with the history behind the sparring exercise. But the instructor might as well have been spewing gibberish as his words went through one ear and out the next.

Massaging his temples, Iruka glanced down at his list again. "Alright, let's have… Uzumaki, Naruto-" at the sound of his name the blond boy punched a fist into the air, crowing his enthusiasm boisterously. His excited mood couldn't be dampened, even despite the whispers that began to disperse amongst his classmates. "-and Sakata, Masaharu!"

Naruto looked around curiously, wondering which of his classmates' butt he'll be kicking. However, all of his brimming confidence washed away when a tall pretty girl stepped forward and entered the circle with him. His cheeks flushed a bright pink when she flashed him a cute smile and he watched as she gave him a weird hand folded bow before positioning herself into another weird stance. Her fighting stance wasn't anything he recognized; she kept her feet apart, the right in front of the other, knees slightly bent and arms held out mirroring her feet with one arm outstretched and the other kept centered. Her hands were not clenched like his, but her fingers were loose and palms open.

The blond boy tried mirroring her fighting stance with one of his own. A girl, he deadpanned. He would have to fight a very tall, very pretty girl. He gazed up at her and as her smile quickly melted into a frown, he swallowed audibly.

"Begin!"

Instantly Naruto sprinted forward, throwing out his first punch. The girl shifted to the right, sidestepping away to avoid his punch. "You know your stance is wrong," she commented as she easily ducked away from another punch. "You shouldn't be pulling your arm so far back to strike," she remarked weaving around his series of quick hits. She looked so graceful and she pulled those dodges with ease, almost like she was dancing.

With his constant misses and the jeering of his classmates reached his ears, Naruto could feel his anger and frustration begin to rise and his hits began to become more sloppy.

However, his frustration melted away when his fist connected to the girl's open palm effectively catching his punch and he was struck with a sudden cold fear. He flinched, reflexively curving in on himself in defense.

"Here."

Much to his surprise; she grasped his fist in hers, loosening up his fingers and readjusted his fingers into the proper position. "Hold your hand this way, so you won't hurt your thumb while punching" she instructed. Then she smiled "would you like to try again?" she asked kindly, taking a step back.

The tips of his ears pinked and he nodded shyly, getting into his stance again and throwing out a punch. His opponent grinned and she pivoted away to avoid getting hit. "Good job!" she praised spinning away from another blow.

Naruto couldn't keep down the beaming smile that was creeping on his face. He opened his mouth to share his thanks but before he could make a sound, her eyes gleamed. Then with a single fluid motion, she stepped forward hitting the palm of her right hand against his chest and used one of her legs to trip his feet, sending him sprawling on his back.

The courtyard was completely silent for a moment. Iruka-sensei quickly shook his head, breaking out of his initial surprise. "Masaharu wins" he stated before gesturing to both students, "Now offer each other the Seal of Reconciliation."

Everyone watched with mild interest as Masaharu walked over to her opponent and offer her hand to him. The young Uzumaki had a bit of a reputation; he was one to instantly start another brawl with his opponent whenever he lost, as was seen multiple times whenever he paired with Sasuke Uchiha. It was also unexpected for the taller girl to offer a hand to him; for few to none would even exchange words with him, let alone offer a hand in assistance. Naruto was shocked as well, gawking at her hand for a brief moment before hesitantly grabbing it. The girl easily pulled him to a standing position and she placed both her hands on his shoulders to steady him.

"You did very well Naruto-kun" she grinned patting both his shoulders in congratulations. "Your form is a bit off though. If you ever need help, I can give you a few pointers during lunch." She gave him one final pat, this time on the top of his head before heading back to the classroom with the rest of the students.

Naruto watched her go, long ebony locks flowing as she walked. He unconsciously reached to touch his hair, at the place where she ruffled his head. He could feel the heat rising from the pit of his stomach stretching from his chin, to his cheeks, to his ears and to the top tips of his head. His heart began to pound heavily, although not quite in a bad way. Clenching a fist to the front of his shirt, he quickly dashed after her, stumbling with a "W-Wait!"

However, despite the fact that the raven-haired girl was the tallest person in their class, Naruto lost sight of her once a sea of his classmates entered his vision. He tried to elbow his way to the front but due to his tiny stature, his attempts were all in vain and proven futile.

Giving up, he sighed loudly. Being the last to enter the classroom, he began to sulk. He effectively ignored Iruka-sensei, who yelled at him to sit down and sat in the only remaining seat in the back next to pineapple boy. He huffed loudly and slumped in his chair. From the corner of his eye, he saw that tall girl sit in between the hooded-glasses guy and dog-hat wearing dude at a nearby table. He saw her hunch over the table, eagerly looking at the dark swarming pile that hooded-glasses guy had released onto the table.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, jutting out his lower lip in a pout. He muttered softly to himself, wondering why the first pretty girl who's ever talked to him, would be so interested in talking to that other guy! He continued to grumble incoherently, not noticing the annoyed look pineapple boy threw him along with the "troublesome" that attached soon after.

Although his silent brooding came to a halt when he saw the girl look up momentarily and her eyes surveyed the room. Naruto unconsciously found himself sitting up straighter in his seat, his breathing hitched slightly when her eyes locked with his own. For a moment, she returned his stare blinking owlishly. She flashed a small smile his way before turning back to the black swarm.

An opportunity arose when Iruka-sensei needed to step out of the room and the blond boy seized it as a chance to jump out of his seat and dash over to the girl's desk, eagerly wanting to talk her. He came to a screeching halt, slamming both his hands onto the hard service of the desk, effectively startling all three students. He grinned widely, a pink hue dusting his cheeks when he saw that the girl was staring at him. "Hi!" he exclaimed loudly, ignoring dog-boy's flinch at the sheer volume of his voice. "I'm Uzumaki, Naruto and-" his train of thought came to a halt when he finally registered that the dark cloud on the desk were actually bugs. "Whoa!" his eyes twinkled and he bent down to take a closer look. "Your desk is swarming with bugs!" he reached out a hand to touch them but a hand him blocked before he could.

"Please leave them alone" this time it was the hooded-glasses guy that spoke. "Why? Because they are my pets."

The raven-haired girl smiled and she pointed her index finger towards him, showing off one of the kikaichū that rested on the tip of her finger. "Don't be fooled by their cute appearance. Even Sokka here is very dangerous" she explained and Naruto watched the little bug in awe.

The Inuzuka who was eavesdropping sweatdropped, choking on his saliva. Those bugs, cute?

Masaharu ignored Kiba's reaction, allowing a smile to grace her features. She wasn't fooled by Naruto's attempt at a nonchalant attitude when he came over to their table. After observing how their teachers and classmates treated him, she could assume she was one of the first to treat him kindly. So, she asked, "Would you like to join us for lunch later Uzumaki-kun?" Beside her, Shino cast his friend a bemused look but hesitantly nodded his head in agreement.

A warm feeling began to envelop his chest and his stomach fluttered, but in a good way, as tears began to gathered and threatened to spill from his eyes. "Y-Yeah!" the blond boy burst out with a wide beaming smile.

And it was at that moment the odd little duo turned into an unconventional trio.


	2. Chapter 2

Masaharu exhaled quietly as she rested her cheek against the palm of her hand. It had been a few years since she's enrolled in this schooling system and it had been a grating couple of years. Completely aware of the blessedness of her situation, it was hard to dumb herself down to the level of her peers. She blew through the academic portion of the academy and was like a fish in water for the shinobi portion, using her previous knowledge and fully matured mind to her advantage. She was given the opportunity to graduate early, even offered an apprenticeship from an old mummified councilman. He started coming around within the first year of her schooling, always flanked by this masked bodyguards. He attempted to convince her mother and her boss, three more incidences followed, before his visits completely stopped and she never saw the mummified old man again.

Instead, another old man took his place; a towering, broad figure, very similar to the men of the Southern Water Tribe, and hair as long and as white as parchment, permanent red tear lines streaked his cheeks. He was nice, though a bit of an idiot and he always appeared at the brothel at least once every year.

"Of course, why? Because we have been practicing it multiple times with you."

Shino's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she glanced just as Naruto began to slump, his body continuing to slide down his chair until it was just his head appearing over his desk. "But what if," he mumbled, just audible enough for his two friends to hear. "-what if they ask me to perform the clone jutsu?"

A frown marred her features and Masaharu reached out, running her hand through his spiky blond locks. She looked up, making eye contact and exchanging a knowing look with Shino. Usually, it was her position as the mature one to offer comfort and encouraging words upon situations like this but… Furrowing her eyebrows, the raven-haired girl sent the Aburame a pointed look, shifting her eyes to Naruto's prone figure and back to him.

Shino stared at her, behind dark sunglasses and Masaharu locked gazes with him, shifting her eyes back to the blond again.

Letting out a soft exhale, Shino began, "Then you still won't fail, why?" Naruto glanced up at him, and he continued knowing he had his full attention. "Because you have a contingency plan. Did we not help you master that genjutsu technique for a case such as that?" he paused and couldn't help but sweatdrop at Naruto's gawking. He jaw was dropped so wide, it was almost comical. "Please close your mouth, why?" he ignored the amused grin Masaharu sent him. "-because you will start to catch flies."

Shino jumped when a hand clamped down onto his shoulder. "Shino you… you…" A sniffing sound reached his ears and from his peripheral vision, he saw a waterfall of tears pour out of Naruto's eyes. "-you really do care!" he sobbed. A chill shot through Shino's spine as Naruto continued to cry, clutching his shoulder and wiping a stream of snot from his nose into the sleeve of his jacket.

Looking over Naruto's shoulder, Shino shot a brief 'help me' look to Masaharu, tilting his head ever so slightly towards the crying blond. Instead, she placed her hand against her cheek and she gave him an adoring look. "He really does care, doesn't he?" and she made no move to remove the sobbing blond from his shoulder.

Shino quickly looked away, attempting to hide the rising blush that quickly dusted over his cheeks. He dipped his chin further under the high collar of his jacket, and he was somewhat successful if it weren't for the red tips of his ears. "Enough," he mumbled as he gently pushed Naruto away from him. "You both are unbelievable" he huffed, and his two friends couldn't help but laugh.

They silenced when their two chunnin instructors entered the classroom, calling for attention. "Attention everyone!" Iruka-sensei called and his voice rang through the classroom, silencing all side chatter. "We are going to start the physical portion of your graduation exams so listen carefully for your name and proceed to the next classroom! We shall start with; Aburame, Shino."

Almost instantly both Masaharu and Naruto chimed "Good luck Shino!" in perfect unison. The said boy replied with a curt nod and began walking confidently to the examination room. Just before he stepped in, he heard a faint "Remember to breathe!" followed by an obnoxious "You've got this Shino!" Ahead of him, he saw pony-tailed teacher pinch the bridge of his brow muttered something incoherent on his loud, annoying friend.

Although, no matter how obnoxious, loud and sometimes annoying his friends may be… Shino was thankful for how high his collar was, hiding the faint smile that traced over his lips.

Once the door closed, almost instantly the chatter picked up.

Turning to Naruto, Masaharu took note the slight tremor in his clenched hands. Pursuing her lips, she slung her arm around his shoulders, pulling the Uzumaki into a side embrace. "Hey," she whispered as she rested her cheek against the top of his hair. "-you're going to pass this, you've got it" she murmured as she ran her hand up and down his back comfortingly. She had always been a physically affectionate person in her previous life and it was no different in this one.

Naruto stiffened completely as his body was suddenly pressed up against his female friend's side, his face tinging red as it fell into the crook of her neck. He was close enough to feel her smooth skin, the stray strands of hair from her braid tickled his face and the scent of her peachy shampoo that filled his nostrils. He flushed an even darker shade of scarlet.

The Uzumaki suddenly felt a feeling of dread and a shiver ran down his spine. Straightening up, he looked around wondering where this malicious feeling was coming from. Turning his head, a perfect 180, he locked eyes with the weird Hinata girl; her eyes narrowed, and the white irises made her look much more frightening. Hinata was usually always plastered with a red face whenever she was around his friends and sometimes, he would spot her hiding conspicuously whenever the trio hung out after school. This instance seemed to be an exception, instead of her usual shy smile, she was glowering in his direct. He could practically see her jealous ire take shape, a dark malevolent aura took form, growing as it swirled over her head.

Sensing that if he held onto Masaharu any longer, so would inevitably lead to his impending doom; he quickly separated himself, lowering his head and drawing his knees to his chest in an almost protective fetal position.

With both eyebrows shooting upward, Masaharu gazed over her shoulder curious to what made her blond friend so nervous. Right behind the duo, she spotted Hinata watching him rather intensely and she wondered if the girl was just as anxious.

Raising her hand to catch her attention; the dark-haired girl waved to the Hyūga, mouthing a silent "good luck" accompanied with a playful wink. As she turned her attention back to the front, she missed the instant change in Hinata's face. The crease and intensity in her face disappeared and it was replaced with a dark crimson shade that erupted from her neck and slowly made its way up to her cheeks, to the tips of her ears and to the tips of her forehead. Steam began to rise from her head and slowly, the Hyūga began to sway back and forth before falling behind the desk with a loud thud.

Eyes flying wide, Naruto, who had witnessed the whole exchange, hesitantly stood up and peeked over the edge. He found her lying in a supine position; the pigment of her face completely scarlet, a content smile spread across her lips, eyes closed, and a trickle of blood fell from her right nostril.

The Uzumaki turned away deliberately as he returned to his seat. He kept his face forward, emotion devoid of his face, pretending he hadn't just seen his best friend kill their classmate with a wink.

* * *

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Masaharu stared at the half-eaten taiyaki sullenly, losing her appetite as she allowed the cooked red beans already starting to spill out onto the table. She fell sideways as if her energy was sapped away from her, and the brunet beside her allowed her body to press up against him for comfort.

Shino hummed, his colony beginning to buzz at the additional body heat on his right side, a frown marring his usually impassive face. "Naruto should have been allowed to pass the first time, why?" he turned his head slightly to meet his friend's crestfallen gaze. "Despite his defective clone jutsu, he should have at least passed with the genjutsu one. If he performed the illusion correctly, then it would demonstrate that he obviously has his skills polished enough to make at least the genin rank."

Nodding slowly, the dark-haired girl straightened. "Yeah…" she paused, thinking for a few moments. "Lee has trouble using his chakra, doesn't he?" she questioned, recalling their recent addition to their little friend group. "He told us that something was wrong with his chakra coils?"

Thinking back, Shino did recall Lee mentioning something like that. That was the Sunday where they met Rock Lee, an older boy wearing a faded mint green tangzhuang jacket and white trousers. Their upperclassman wanted to focus on his hand to hand combat and taijutsu, wanting to prove to everyone he can become a competent shinobi despite his disability.

"Lee-san was able to become a genin, why?" Shino turned, and his dark spectacles shined brightly against the light of the setting sun. "-because he was given a different physical portion of the exam to fulfill his…" he paused for a moment, thinking of an appropriate word. "-abnormality."

"Which is completely unfair to Naruto!" the ravenette exclaimed rather hotly, jolting up from her slump position. "Naruto is at the same standing as Lee-" Shino nodded in agreement, knowing both boys were clanless orphans. "-and he worked just as hard despite his shortcomings! Why didn't Iruka-sensei or Mizuki-sensei give him this exception?!" she slammed her fist against the bench top, her anger and frustration getting the better of her.

In the tea house behind her, several civilians yelped in surprise as water burst out violently, multiple porcelain teacups shattering to pieces. Immediately taking note of his friend's agitation Shino reached over and placed his hand over hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Masaharu took in a deep breath calming down her nerves, though her lower lip jutted out as she clenched her jaw tightly. "We shall bring this up to the Hokage, why?" Shino tilted his head, his dark sunglasses glinting in the sunlight. "He seems unusually favorable to Naruto. He might be able to give him an exception and influence Naruto's retake."

Furrowing her eyebrows, the dark-haired girl thought back to the old man with the funny hat, who apparently was the most powerful person in this village. She did not like how the government system was set up. It was somewhat set up like a monarchy, no republic of elected leaders, most of the governmental power goes under the elder council consisting of only elder shinobi and not elder civilians, the significant level difference between shinobi clans and those who aren't, along with the lack of care this place seems to have the parentless children. The orphanage isn't even located in the village! She also thought it was rather unusual that each Hokage was somewhat related to another; the Nidaime was the brother of the Shodai, the Sandaime was the student of the Nidaime and the Yondaime was the student of a previous member of Sandaime's genin team. This was too much to be a coincidence [1].

The more she thought about this place, the more bitterness she felt. She was thankful that, even though she was an orphan like Naruto and Lee, she still had people she could call family. She knew they were not perfect, they weren't a typical nuclear family and some might say prostitutes were not usually considered great influences, but she loved her mother and the rest of the Petal courtesans of the Red-Light District with all her heart and she wouldn't trade them for anything.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she shook her head. "Okay, Shino-" grabbing his hand, she proceeded to drag the Aburame boy towards the Hokage Tower, not leaving room for a protest. "-let's go bust out the big lettuce."

* * *

Naruto exhaled softly as he stood in the middle of gramps' office, tugging on the lobe of his right ear absentmindedly. He didn't pay mind to the heated discussion between Iruka-sensei and the old man, his teacher both commending and berating his "irresponsible actions". Naruto rolled his eyes, fueling Iruka-sensei's frustration and his ranting got louder.

It wasn't even his fault, he muttered silently to himself. It was all Mizuki-sensei—not sensei, he quickly corrected himself, his body filling with bitterness and anger of the man who betrayed and tricked him. Anyway, so what if he stole a super-secret scroll? At least he got a really cool secret jutsu out of it and finally passed his genin exams. He couldn't wait to show it off to his friends, especially Haru. She would be so proud of him, he could already feel giddy with excitement.

"H-Hey you can't go in there!"

Iruka-sensei stopped yelling, the three silently straining their ears to hear a loud commotion down the hall. They could hear several people screaming and shouting and his head perked up when he heard a familiar female voice over the ruckus.

The heavy doors burst open and his two friends flew into the room brazenly, stances puffed up with confidence. "Excuse us for the intrusion Lord Hokage," the Aburame heir began. "-but we have a very important matter to discuss with you-"

"We think you should let Naruto become a genin!" the tall girl burst out, wanting to get straight to the point. "We think Naruto was assessed unfairly and there should be an exception and-!" she halted when Shino elbowed her side. "Shino" she hissed, rubbing her arm. "I'm in the middle of-" she paused again, looking in the direction he was nodding. Her doe-gray eyes met azure ones and she took in his scuffed, battered form before trailing up to the new shiny addition that adorned his forehead.

She gasped loudly, before bodily throwing herself at the blond, her arms finding its way around his neck. "Naruto you passed!" she squealed, already hopping up and down in her excited enthusiasm.

Shino displayed a rare smile, sauntering over to the duo and he clapped his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Congratulations", he barely made out before huffing sharply as the air knocked out of his lungs when two different arms reached out to pull him into a tight embrace. Heat began to rise from his neck to his cheeks and his two friends grinned at him cheekily. He quickly ducked half his face into his coat collar to hide his embarrassment, but he accepted the group hug anyway.

Amidst all the joy, Iruka and Sarutobi watching the heartwarming scene with happy smiles of their own, Naruto suddenly recalled a classified secret Mizuki had shared with him during their battle. He was unable to keep the frown from his features as negative thoughts began to swirl in his head.

As if sensing inner distress, Masaharu's hand suddenly appeared inches from his and she lightly tapping her index finger on the tip of his nose. "Stop thinking so hard" she stated before a dazzling grin appeared on her face. "-you might bust your brain or something" chuckling, she withdrew her finger and tapped her own nose with a wink.

"That would be impossible, why?" Shino quickly interjected from beside her and even though half of his face was obscured by his tall coat collar, Naruto knew him long enough to sense the Aburame was smirking. "-because this is Naruto, we will never have to worry about that ever happening."

Instantly the blond protested an indigent "hey!" causing the remaining residents of the room to chuckle. A small smile appeared at the sight of his laughing friends. He couldn't believe that they broke into the Hokage Tower to convince the old man to make him a genin, just for him. That scum Mizuki was wrong, he did have people in his life that really cared for about him.

But… his train of thought trailed off as he suddenly clutched the fabric over his stomach. If they knew the secret inside him… would they still be friends with him? If he told them and she—they cut ties with him, he could feel his insides twisting painfully at the thought and he could practically taste the sourness that filled his mouth.

Naruto allowed his dark-haired friend to tug him along, declaring to treat him to dango as a congratulatory present and Shino followed closely behind, rattling directions to the best dumpling stand.

The blond beamed broadly, touched by their actions. He thought back to the monster that lay within the pit of his stomach, one thought echoed through his brain as the trio left the office and nagged continued to nag for the rest of the night.

Do I really deserve this?

* * *

[1] … and later the Godaime, who is the daughter of Shodai and the student of Sandaime. The Rokudaime, the only surviving student of the Yondaime and the Nanadaime, who is both the son of the Yondaime and student of the Rokudaime.


End file.
